Cameron Crowe made a string of charming Hollywood romances that I enjoy: specifically, Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, and Almost Famous. With these movies, Crowe displayed a classic storytelling sensibility, a real joy for pop music/pop culture, and an ear for memorably off-beat dialogue — a bit like a later day John Hughes.

But all of those elements failed in Elizabethtown, a kind of unintentional farce about a jaded city guy meeting a bubbly country gal whilst he plans his dad’s funeral. The movie is not aided by its rambling plot, unfunny jokes, confused supporting actors, or the perpetually blank smiles of Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst as they pantomime liking each other. I hate this movie. Unwatchable.